america and love

I loved the pictures! LOVED your emails and felt like I was able to be apart of that special day. PARKS wow. I still cant believe you leaving so soon. Im so so proud of you. love you little man.

This week was super AMERICAN. I feel like I was in America this week. Let me tell yall about it...
First of all, our investigator who comes to eikaiwa, Aiko who we recently started teaching lessons to, came to Aoyagi Choros devotional yesterday! It was a miracle, and the Lord touched her heart through the spirit, the words spoken were addressed to her needs, and it was really neat to see her slowly changing and softening her heart. Yesterday was also a little tender mercy for me. Ever since that experience of seeing the light of Christ in people, ive been wanting and trying to find ways to show that light and love so desperately, I know that it only comes through being worthy and happy and having the spirit. Yesterday, before the devotional, Aiko said that my eyes were shining, after the devotional, she said my eyes kept getting brighter and brighter, and before she left, she said that she loved me and wants the "shine" that i have. It was really a tender mercy, and I know that the Lord can use us as His tools. We are His servants in this critical time of hastening the work. So charrenjee--- be HAPPY this week. and Smile at everyone. the light will only come through love and a smile and the spirit. :)))))

This week, I slept on a BED. ya. guys. i slept on a bed. The first time on my mission. We had companion exchanges, and the apartment in Fukuroi used to be a senior couple apartment, so they had beds. It was lovely.
We met quite a lot of americans this week which was not normal, but 2 couple missionaries from Orem came and spoke in our ward yesterday. Elder Maetani worked with President Pullan, he says yoroshiku.

This week, we did a ton of less-active work. It is hard to see people who once knew the gospel, who were familiar with the spirit, and who had a relationship with God, to be in a state now of unhappiness. Please dont ever let yourself forget the feelings of the spirit. It is SO important to nourish your spirit everyday. Pray fervently everyday. Love you so much, and I know the Lord loves you perfectly. Thank you for your example and dedication. You are incredible. Love you so much.

 

the good times...

ohhhhh. k. PARKER. Are you going to the temple this week? Oh Parker! Parker! It is such a special experience. That day was one of my favorite days, I cherish that memory. It will be a day that you never forget. Go wholeheartedly and open your heart and mind for the Spirit to speak to you. I cant wait to go together in 2017. :) LOVE YOU. love love love the choices you are making. You will never regret following the footsteps of the Savior, doing what He would do, and doing what he asks. It is never a burden, it is the easiest path to take. The gospel isnt hard, life is hard. bahhhh proud of you chummy boy. hope you know i love you.

This week...Lots of blessings, the Lord is hastening His work. I only have time to mention a couple of the many amazing things that happened:
So. We met with a former investigator- S.Y. She is the lady that gave me the bag she made, we took pics with her in clothes that she made right after skyping you. remember those pics? Well we helped her write a letter in english, and saw a letter that Lauren Stott wrote! Is that our Lauren Stott? thought that was fun. we are both teaching the same lady! We had a great lesson with her, I felt like the Lord blessed us with confidence in knowing that we are representatives of the Savior, and we taught with boldness and power. Sister Smith is a great teacher! We invited her to be baptized, she still has problems with her mom being buddhist, but she says she believes everything and believes that the SAvior atoned for her. SHE BELIEVES THE SAVIOR ATONED FOR HER SINS. do you realize how huge that is???? investigators in japan just dont understand that, so we are excited to meet her again this week.
K shimai, my favorite girl ive met in japan (truly. you WILL meet her. she speaks great english and is our best friend here.) gave me a pic of the Salt lake temple for my birthday that says the quote--if this isnt his castle then hes not your prince. haha cute. But we also had a great talk about faith and enduring to the end. I know that on a mission, it is a lot easier to feel close to the spirit and have a great desire to do what the Lord wants us to. But i also know that a mission doesnt last forever. it is too short! there are hard times. of course. parker-- there will be hard days. but WHATEVER. they dont last. there are good times and amazing wonderful spiritual moments- they dont last forever. there will be hard days and hard lessons and hard companions and maybe even hard transfers, but they dont last forever either! I am beginning to appreciate my mission more and more and dont want to take it for granted. The mission will end, and i dont want to lose this zeal to endure righteously. Sometimes, the work of the Lord doesn't go exactly how we planned, or how we would like it to go. But it is a great reminder to always exercise faith, and trust in the will of the Lord. He is in charge. He is our rock and our merciful Savior. I trust Him. And I am here to serve Him, whatever His will and requests may be. Not only for missionary work, but also "normal life":). I hope I can be diligent and faithful to the will of the Lord always. FAM thank you so much for not only enduring, but fulfilling the responsibilities we have while enduring. I know the Lord is proud of you and trusts you. love you all so much.

pics...this week we ate fish hot dogs. mmm. stinky. met with H she is getting baptized next week, she lives in fujieda which is a different area, but we met her at the music conference, and she came to visit and we went to dinner with her! in the vid she was trying to teach me SA. did you use SA?? also david mailed me a while ago, i emailed him back but i dont know who he is haha. also.. sorry michael for not emailing you back. but. thanks for taking shay to hawaii. you both are tan and beautiful and full of the spirit. :D. heeeee love you. fAM sorry for the tsukunai details. love you so much. you are amazing. dad your conference notes were awesome. lvoed reading them cant wait to study them. you are incredible.
talk to you soon. :)

MOM AHHH igot your package! hahahaha the wrapping on the jumprope, the DARLING scripture case. so happy. i was so happy. you are darling. thank you so much. ippai ai o kanjimashita yo. arigatou gozaimashita. honto ni minnasan ga iesu kirisuto no shimobe toshite, kare no hikari o shimeshiteiru. mohan arigatouuu! love love love you
love, twit/sister wilfcox.

Trying...

Dear Fam and Friends,

BAHH I cant believe Devin Brown and Spencer Richards are already home! I bet that is so fun to see everyone.

This week we had so much fun and worked so hard! We visited as many less-actives as we could, called the ones we couldnt visit, and yesterday at church there were more less actives than we have seen in months! It was so fun to see all the members excited about missionary work, there was a special spirit in church yesterday. The members here are incredible. 

This week was President and Sister Yamashitas last Zone Conference! Sooo sad. Love love them. He played "Im trying to be like Jesus" at the end. He wants this to be our goal- to focus on being like the Savior. It was a tender mercy, as I was thinking about driving to the MTC listening to dad sing that song.

I'm trying to love my neighbor;
I'm learning to serve my friends.
I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.
I try to remember the lessons he taught.
Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts, saying:
Love one another as Jesus loves you. 

Try to show kindness in all that you do. 

Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought, 

For these are the things Jesus taught.

I love the message of this song. We don't have to be just like the savior,there is no way we can be! But we can TRY. I love how close we can feel to the Savior. Through the plan of Salvation, we know that we can accomplish all the trials and harships in this life- the Savior knows everything, and Him and our Father know and love us perfectly. Any hard time can become a beautiful miracle and tender mercy, because they can each bring us closer to Christ. 

Thank you so much for the birthday love! That day was actually a very spiritual experience, because I felt so much love from so many people. Im sorry, no time but love you so much. SO MUCH. Keep pushing and enduring. By living the gospel of Jesus Christ and enduring to the end, you are doing everything right. 

Love love love you!
Love, Sister Wilcox

 

Harvest! (email from May 31, 2015)

Hellooooooo

Parker P-dizzle you are graduated! Time is FLYING, and I have been so excited to tell you about this past week. You are going to LOVE your mission.
This week was so crazy busy but crazy awesome. I feel uplifted by the Lord and the Spirit everyday, and I am so grateful to be His missionary right now. I know that He is no stranger to His servant, and Park as you get ready to leave on your mission, you will start to understand the Plan more clearly than ever before.

This week, Sister Smith and I wanted to really set goals that would test our faith and push us. We chose one goal from the standards of excellence- find a new investigator everyday- and we prayed and fasted and worked to accomplish this goal. Everyday, with the guidance from the spirit, we found a new investigator. This has never happened on my mission, and we truly felt led by the spirit of the Lord everyday. Ahhh it was so fun and sooo incredible. One night, we went to a members house, Iwano Shimai. okay. i love this woman. She is the strongest lady ive ever met, an awesome missionary and so solid. Her husband and 2 children have not been baptized, she was less active when she got married. But i think especially lately, she has been desperate to have her family know the blessings of the gospel. Missionaries for years have been trying to work with the dad and become friends with him, but his heart has not been open. Wellllll one night we were at her house, and she said the next time her husband is home to invite him to take the missionary lessons. I thought, `okay perfect! she wants her husband to hear the gospel, and we have time to pray and prepare to ask him to take lessons.` Just then the dad and daughter came home. They came and knelt around the table with us and he started drinking his beer and chatting with us. Okay i will try to explain this the best i can, but it happened so fast and was sooo stressful haha it was craazzzzyyyy. The mom looks at me, and in english she whispers under her breath `ask him now. NOW ask him now!` like literally kicking me under the table. I said a prayer and opened my mouth. We asked him, at first he was hesitant, but eventually agreed to listen to our message. WHAHAAAA so happy! Please pray for him! We will be teaching their whole family, our first lesson is on my birthday! whooooot. Im so grateful that Iwano Shimai trusts us to teach her husband, and especially that the Lord trusts us.
BAHH i have to go but one more..
This week we called an FI, Jessica, she is from Phillipinnes. We met with her for the first time, talked with her for more than 3 hours! And she agreed to be baptized! Incredible! It is so fun to teach her, she loves Christ and has a huge desire to follow Him. ...just a little different than most of our investigators here. :). But thats why I was thinking about you so much this week, park. It will be soooo FUN and amazing to teach people that have a desire to follow Christ and have more of a desire to listen to your message. Im so so excited for you!
From what we learned in ZTM this week, the time for planting seeds is over. People have been planting seeds for hundreds of years. It is written all over the scriptures the field is white all ready to harvest. The world is READY! We are here and serving and HARVESTING. Work, serve, love, and reap the fruits. Joseph Smith is ready to see the fruits. The Lord is ready. Let us serve and keep enduring to the end. Missionary work is part of enduring to the end! It is my duty, it is yours. LEts be faithful to our covenants and to our Savior! I love Him!
Love you so much, more deets next week. love love love you!
Love, Sister Wilcox

Hello (email from May 24, 2015)

HEY HEY HEY how awe yew?
I've been so excited to tell you about this week. I know it has been a
hard week with grandpa Wilcox and waddoups, and also with the passing
of sister zelaya. I have also been thinking about that a lot, and I
know that there are a lot of things we cannot control in life. But we
can control our faith and our actions, our beliefs and our desires.
And if we desire to be happy amongst hardships and trials, we know
that the simple truths and the beautiful gift of prayer are what can
bring that happiness we are looking for. The peace that we each need.

This week before picking up bean chan, I stayed in Meito with sister
humphreys and garret- 2 of my favorite sisters in the mission.
Together we shared one of the most special nights of my mission.i got
there around 5:00, and they told me their goal for that day was to
find 3 new investigators. We got to work and planned to house for 1
hour. We found 1 new investigator through housing. (Woop!) After that
we needed to visit some members, so all we could do to find new
investigators was OYM on the way to our appointments. We talked to
this girl about 25 years old, she seriously seems goooolden. We taught
her how to pray, gave her pamphlets, and they made a next appt with
her. (Whoop woop!) After member lessons, we had just a few minutes
before we had to get home! We stopped this lady, and at first she was
super hesitant and distant, but we just kept talking to her. After a
while, she opened up to us and told us she was sick, she had
depression and was going through a lot of hard things in her life. We
testified to her of the healing power of the atonement, and through
living the teachings of Jesus Christ, she can be perfectly happy
again. We testified that Heavenly Father loves her. As we were telling
her this, tears started rolling down her cheeks, as well as ours. It
was such a special moment I will never forget. We were truly pouring
our hearts to her, and I felt like the spirit was guiding our words to
personalize our message for her. I was so grateful to be there and be
a mouthpiece for the Lord.

Next day picked up THE BEAN! ;) she is darling. Her name is Merissa
Smith. She has so much dendo Fire and is ready to work! We have
already seen miracles together. Our first day together, we found 2 new
investigators! I had her OYM to this cute little obaachan, and she
spoke back to
Sister smith is perfect English. Haha and she became an investigator!
We met with Hitomi for our first real lesson, and it went so well.
Hitomi really opened up to us, she said during church, during the
'speeches' she felt so much peace that she cried! I was sitting right
next to her and was worried about how loud the kids were being, and
the spirit was doing his job helping her feel love and peace. It was a
testimony to me that this is not our work, it is the Lords, all we do
is invite, and He does the rest. We also met with a new investigator,
Takayama San for the 30/30 with her kids. It went really well, she is
one of those people that you can really see the light of Christ in
her. We are super excited to continue meeting with her to help her
discover that light! Please keep them in your prayers this week!
Sorry super out of time but this week after a tough lesson, I read
this scripture in 1 nephi that says 'have you inquired of the lord?'
We must discover his will if we want to continue on the right path. I
know that in order to be an effective tool in the Lords hands, I must
inquire of him, then be worthy to receive His help. And I want His
help so desperately.
Have you inquired of the Lord?
I love you so much. So so much!
Love, Sister Wilcox

99 (email from May 17, 2015)

Dear family/friends..

It was shocking and heartbreaking news to hear about Griselle. I just cant believe it. I wish I was there to help. Help comfort you, their family, the ward, be there to just help. My heart truly aches for them. I will be praying and working even harder to teach people about the plan of salvation. It is the source of greatest comfort and joy in this life. I love you!

We had a crazy experience this week. We had a member lesson, and afterwards went to the store to buy a present for a less-actives birthday. We were on our way when we ran into Brother Kita. It was a huge coincidence. Brother Kita is about 75 years old ish, he just got baptized a year or so ago, but he is SUCH a strong member. He has his own investigators! Anyway, when we saw him, he had a cigarette in his hand. He acted like he had been drinking. We were shocked. He didnt want to talk to us, im sure he was very embarassed. It was so sad, you dont really realize how much you love someone until you go through a hard time, or a trial that tests your faith. It was really heartbreaking. We called the ward mission leader, and that was it. He told us not to worry about it. ...We went to the store, but went with a sick feeling and a prayer in our hearts. AFter a while, we decided to pray together. AFter that prayer, we had a clear impression that we needed to visit Brother Kita. We left immediately for his house. When we got there, no one was home and he wouldnt answer the phone. The impression was so clear that we needed to see Brother Kita tonight, that we actually went out looking for him. Its hard to measure your own faith, but I had so much faith that night, i think more than i have had in my life, that we would see Brother Kita that night. I felt like I was really on the Lords errand. After only 5 minutes of looking, we got a text from him. He said he was sorry, to not tell anyone about seeing him that night, and that he wouldnt be at church the next day. I called him, and after talking to him for a while, convinced him to come back to his apartment. About 30 minutes later, he did come back. We acted like nothing was wrong and loved him as a child of God that He is. We didnt do much, but I felt like we had followed the will of God that night. We felt that as the Lords set apart representatives, we needed to do as He would do. So we left the 99, and went after the one. Brother Kita was at church the next day. It was such a neat experience for me, I know Heavenly Father is so mindful of each of His children. How can that be? How can He know us so perfectly and know exactly how to help us? I dont know, but I know that He does. And isnt it neat that WE can be tools that He uses to lift others? I want to always be worthy of His trust. You can each be His messengers of love and comfort right now for the Zelaya family. I love you and I know the Lord trusts you.

IT WAS SO FUN TO TALK TO YOU LAST WEEK! AHHH i just love love lvoe to think back on it. So stinkin fun. sure love you guys. parker. gosh dangit you are gonna kill it in Argentina.

OHHHH hahaha......soooooo transfer calls were last week. And Stewart Shimai will be going to Toyama! My first area! Craaazyyy. There is one sister missionary coming in this transfer, and I will be TRAINING her! getting a little bean chan! CRAZY i feel so bad for this little new sister haha i hope i dont ruin her! But i will do my best and we will work hard hard hardddd. Excited, nervous and scared outa my mind but this transfer will be great. Becuase how can we fail with the Lords help? The Lord is no stranger to His servants.

Love you love you. oh hey we had 3 investigators at church yesterday! and 3 more PIs. how cool! Stewarts shimai had never seen one investigator at church, and her last sunday here there were 6 people that could potentially become members of the Church of Jesus Chirst of Latter day Saints. The work is moving forward!!!

Sorry for the TSUKUNAI details, more next week. love love love you!
Love, Sister Wilcox

Infinite Worth (email from May 3, 2015)

Beloved Family and Friends,

We had a fantastic week here in Shizuoka. Im sorry no time this week, I will update you on everything next week when we SKYPE. I will skype here monday around 10ish am.

We had a way neat experience last night actually. Our eternal investigator had us over for dinner (Nakayama san), and she had asked us if she could bring her friend over who is interested in religion, and have us share our message! WOW Yes please. All week I was so nervous, I felt like this was a make-it-or-break-it, and Stewart Shimai and I worked hard together to prepare for this lesson. I really wanted to understand what the Lord wanted to tell Nakayama's friend, and through my companion and I, I felt like we were helping the spirit do His job. The best moments are when you feel like an effective tool in the Masters' hands. We were not there 10 minutes when she started asking about our church, we ended up teaching the entire Restoration and Plan of Salvation. We also taught about good/evil, the priesthood, and eternal families. We even showed an I am Mormon video. It was so fun to be able to fulfill our missionary purpose with her, and TEACH. That is our job as missionaries, and I am so grateful we were able to have such a wonderful teaching opportunity. She was soaking it all in. It was amazing to see and FEEL how distinct the Spirit was. We could tell such a real difference from when the spirit was there, and when it wasnt . She explained to us her beliefs about feeling happiness and energy from the sun, flowers, water, etc, and the feeling was SO different. She told us at one point that life is like a big mountain. Everyone is climbing the mountain trying to make it to our end goal (Gods presence/Life again with God). Some people walk up the mountain, some people ride a Ferrari, some people ride a bus, etc. She said as long as everyone makes it to the goal, why does it matter how you get there? (different churches). We asked her, what if we didnt have to wait until the end to reach God? What if we could feel God, and have a personal relationship with him, have his help and comfort NOW? Why wait if we dont have to ? Why stump your own growth and deny yourself of infinite blessings when you could receive it all now? She didnt say anything for a long time, and I know the spirit was working inside of her. Nakayama san, our investigator also TESTIFIED to her, and told her about the spirit, and what a pure comfort that it brings. It was such a neat experience. We were there for 4 hours! But I know one day she will recognize the Lords love, because it is real, and she is a daughter of God, and He wants her back in His arms.

I studied about infinite worth this week. We are nothing compared with God. I know I am weak and nothing. But God knows our potential- he knows what and who we can become. We can become perfect. We, each of us personally, has INFiNITE worth. Dont ever forget who you are. I know this gospel is true. With all my heart I know it is true! I love the Spirit and the Lords love. Cant wait to talk to you next week.
PARKER Im SO PROUD OF YOU! CANT WAIT TO HEAR WHERE YOU WILL SERVE IN THE LORDS VINEYARD!
Love, Sister Wilcoxd

Prove Faithful (email from April 26, 2015)

FAM:) FRIENDS:)
Sounds like you had a great week, welcome home BEN KATZ! (And Gigi
looks so good! So happy to see her up and walking again.) Wow time is
flying! How fun, how fun! Ahh do you have so much dendo Fire with Ben
coming home and Parker getting his call? Love MISSIONS! Serving with
the Lord is the best thing we can be doing in this mortal life.
Serving with Him, i have seen His light in others, I have seen His
hand in the little details of our lives, I have recognized my
weaknesses. I have realized what I want to become like, and it is so
much easier to let the Lord help us grow and change rather than facing
life on our own. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit guide.
:)

We actually had quite a lot of disappointment this week. Our most
progressing investigator dropped us, because the 30/30 program ended.
:( it was a tough pill to swallow. We saw so much potential and
progression in her. We left her with a Book of Mormon with a members
testimony inside. I know she will accept the gospel on earth one day.
Maybe she just needs time and more personal experiences with the
spirit. Grateful for faith and hope.
We have kind of started back on ground 0. Back to full time finding.
We also are focusing on less-actives, and I think the spirit is
reaching out to these less-actives- the Lord truly goes before and
after us. We sat by Kobayashi obaachan at church, she also brought her
daughter. :) love love her. Sugita 姉妹 is okay with us visiting her
with the relief society president, which is a huge step for her!

We had two wonderful miracles this week I want to tell you about! A
couple weeks ago, we were on our way home and across the street I saw
a girl with the strongest impression to go talk to her. My comp had
biked ahead, but I knew the impression was directly from God. I
stopped her, told her her hair was cute, and we talked. For about 10
minutes we had the most real conversation I've ever had on my mission.
Her friends are Christian and she has always been interested in Christ
and different religions! She is engaged to be married, ahh she was
just so cute and we had so much fun talking. It was disappointing at
the end when I asked to exchange numbers, and she wasn't up for it.
But I gave her our number and that was it. Sadly to say I didn't have
much hope that she would call. ..well she CALLED. and we went to
dinner with her. She asked so many good questions about our church and
it was so easy to be real with her, to be passionate about this
church, our Savior, and Heavenly Father that I love! We have so much
faith in her! Please pray for Satomi San. :).
Last night we met with eternal investigator Nakayama San. She is so
sweet, when you all come to Japan, I'd love you to meet her. :) well
last night she asked us if she could bring her friend and have us
teach her! Ahh yes PLEASE how awesome is that?? She said her friend is
interested in religion and she wants her friend to feel the same
things that she feels when we teach her. What a miracle, I hope her
friend can also feel the spirit. It is such a sweet feeling. Pure love
and light and joy!

Children God delights to teach you.
By His holy spirits voice.
Quickly heed its holy promptings
Day by day you'll then rejoice. Oh, prove faithful! Oh, prove faithful.
To your God and Zions cause.

I love you all so much, I know Heavenly Father knows you and loves
you. He lives. And we will see Him soon. Prove faithful, we must not
give in to temptations! We have the greatest power on earth to
overcome the devil. We can do it with the Savior very near.
I love you I love you!!!
love sister Wilcox

joy (email from April 19, 2015)

FAMILY.

1. PARKER. I think Shaylee is the only person right now who understands how i am feeling. SO HAPPY and SO SAD. I cannot believe your mission papers are in! Parker! I wish I could just scream and hug you and tell you how much you are going to looove your mission. You are so much more prepared, and so in tune with the Spirit. Working with the Lord, and following the Spirit, I know you are going to change peoples lives. you are going to conquer Satan, and you will see the hand of the Lord. It will be incredible. love you soo much. So so proud of you my man!

2. SHIZUOKA! Guys. I cannot explain the joy. The spiritual moments. The wonderful people. The hand of the Lord. I have never been happier in my entire life. I cannot imagine being anywhere else. Being senior has brought much more responsibility and stress, but ...i love it. We MUST ask Heavenly Father what he would like us to do, where He would like us to be, or what He would like us to say. I have clearly seen Him guiding us in each of these areas, I have done things that are beyond my compacity. I have dedicated my time to serving him, and I am only a tool in His masterful hands. Now, I can finally see Him using me in ways that are bringing so much JOY.

We focused a lot on less-actives this week. One is named Sugita. Missionaries have visited her everyweek for years. Our first visit, we just had so much fun talking and laughing, and I was shocked that I could understand her. we were able to develop a way good relationship with her. our second time visiting her, she completely opened up. it was really a miracle. She said she has not had home teachers for years, she does not know the RS president, and she doesnt know who the Bishop is. I think she went inactive from being offended by something/someone. Sad. So we were able to get her home teachers again, and this week we are visiting her with the Relief Society President. I feel like this is where the Lord wants me to be! after our long conversation, she told me that missionaries usually just come, share a message, and leave. She said Sister Wilcox you are very rare and I feel lucky that you were sent to Shizuoka. AH It made my heart so happy! Heavenly Father has been with me this whole time, this scary and new change has become so incredibly enjoyable and heavenly. Sorry that sounds cheesy...i dont know how else to describe it.

Another less active we visited, Kobayashi, ahh i fell in love with her. She is a super old obaachan and was baptized just a few years ago. We had so much fun visiting her, she has such sweet spirit about her. We sang I am a Child of God with her and when she prayed, she cried and cried. It was the sweetest moment. Then on Sunday, SHE CAME TO CHURCH! She came up to me and gave me a big hug, and said so proudly "Im here! I came to church!" I didnt know my heart could love someone so much. I want you to meet these people!
Also, 2 14 year old girls came to church yesterday for homework from their christian school! We got their numbers and set an appointment with them so PLEASE keep them in your prayers!!

Okay sorry this is long but just one more story! Yesterday we met with an eternal investigator, Nakayama san. It was my first time meeting her. WOW. She just needs to get baptized. She believes everything, she knows it is true. She feels the spirit. She recognizes the light that members have. I pray pray pray she will want to take the next step. She speaks a little bit of english. During our lesson, the spirit was so strong, one of the best lessons we have had on my whole mission. It was so fun to speak a little english in our lesson, and as we testified, we cried (didnt realize how much of a bawl baby i was till my mish!!!) and the power that was there was so tsuyoi! She said she appreciates us being so pure. We explained that it is Jesus Christ[s light. It was the spirit that she was feeling. And that Heavenly Father is her literal father. He loves her and you and me and all. I am so grateful. I know this is true. And right now I am not taking this truth for granted. I want to tell everyone that I can! Cannot explain the perfect joy. ITs something we must feel for ourselves. It is a very personal experience we can each have with our loving Father. I love Him.

Famand friends i love you so much. thank you for the love and prayers, you are in mine as well everyday! LOVE YOU!
LOVE, Sister Wilcox

LIGHT (email from April 12, 2015)

I WISH YOU WERE HERE i dont have a lot of time today, but im dying for you to see the things we are seeing, feel the things we are feeling, meet the people we are meeting! Mom, I too wish so badly you knew every little detail its killing me.

First of all, conference! YES we got to watch in english. We missed the saturday afternoon bcuz we had an appointment with an inv. but to be spiritually uplifted in english from familiar people and faces was so ..nice. haha. I was thinking of you dad during Russel M. Nelsons talk- Sundays are a delight. I think we can both relate a little bit by saying that sundays are a little stressful and busy. They can be long and difficult. But oh, so rewarding and wonderful. The talk about not taking the gospel for granted was one of my favs. I do not want to take the gospel or the spirit or the Atonement, or our knowledge for granted. Even if Sundays are stressful and scary in Japanese sometimes, at least the spirit and love we feel at church is familiar. I always want to think of sundays as a pure delight- because the gospel is joyful and perfect and the spirit is wonderful.

SHIZUOKA is beautiful. I have already fallen in love with this place. We visited the Bishop the first night I was here, I felt like I have known them for so long. THey are wonderful people and the ward was so welcoming. Adjusting is hard, but when we are in lessons, or meeting with members, it is so much easier- the gospel really brings ppl together in a way that nothing else can. When I got here, my comp told me that we have 0 progressing investigators. I was suuuuper bummed to hear that. But my comp has a ton of dendo fire, and we got to work and found 3 new investigators the first 2 days. we were STOKED and cannot wait to meet with them this week. This week was filled with so much happiness and LIGHT. I know that the light of Christ does shine. People without the gift of the spirit have that special light. It is real.

BAH im out of time. sorry for the short email. Ill try to write you letters asap. love you so much.
Remember who you are. Remember that we have taken His name upon us, and we are under covenant to remember that name always. I promise if we strive to think of the Savior and live worthy of His presence, our lives will be full of perfect joy and love; our spiritual eyes will be opened, and we will find that we are never alone.

LOVE you so much. have a great week.
Love, Sister Wilcox